Page 9 - Jupiter Ocean Mile - August '23

Jupiter Ocean Mile, Page 9
Tasmania’s Gulag Peninsula

Previously submitted by the by sea … it wasn’t until 40
late Don Kiselewski, MCC, years after the last prisoner
D.S., Palm Beach Gardens was sent to Port Arthur that
Travel Leaders the road down the peninsula
Imagine if you will, was completed.
being very cold, hungry, In 1832, just four years
and without a job or a place after Captain Welsh named
to live. Imagine that not the port, prisoners started
only you but also thousands arriving. They continued
of people – almost the entire to do so for the next 21
country – are in the same years. In 1840, there were
boat. Such was the case in some 2,000 convicts at
England in the early 19th century. It appeared as though Port Arthur. In 1877, after The Penitentiary at Port Arthur. The remains of the hospital stand on the hill.
crime was the only way out. Not so much committing the the last of the sentences
crime, and the benefit of the loot, but instead, the prospect were served, the facility
of being caught and sent to prison. A prison far from the was closed. Some 12,500
shores of the British Isles … and, a prison where one might convicts had served their
get the chance to continue life in a new country. time at Port Arthur Prison,
Such was the case with many of the prisoners that and were then released to
were sent far from the British Isles to serve out their homestead, if they so chose,
prison sentences. Many committed what we might think the wilds of Australia.
of as petty crimes, such as stealing a silver spoon or The Convict Precinct just
candlestick or a lace handkerchief. However, during this a little farther into the cove
great depression in England, these offenses got them a contains the penitentiary
boat ride to the other end of the world – Australia. that was formerly a granary
Geographically, the Tasman Peninsula (Gulag and flourmill. The first two
Peninsula) was ideal for the purpose of containing those floors housed 136 convicts
sent there. There are two bottlenecks in the length of the each in a separate room,
peninsula, one at Dunalley, but most important was the and the fourth floor held The Convict Church built in 1836 to 1867. The church was never consecrated because it was
narrowing of the landmass at Eaglehawk Neck. At this 348 men sleeping dormitory used by different denominations.
point, the lower end of the peninsula was squeezed to 100 style. The third floor was the
yards between the Norfolk Bay and Tasman Sea. Keeping mess, library and Catholic chapel. In 1897, the building were provided for the
the prisoners contained became easy … all it took was a was gutted by fire; however, one can still walk through ex-convicts who were
line of vicious dogs chained at intervals along the end of the shell. too old or infirmed and
Eaglehawk Neck. The “Separate” Prison was built in 1849. It was a round relied on the government
The center of the lower portion of the peninsula is building, designed to completely isolate prisoners from for assistance.
pierced by Carnarvon Bay, shown on maps as Port Arthur. each other and the guards, in solitary confinement and total Standing above
Located in a cove on the western side of the bay is Port silence. Instead of flogging, this type of incarceration was the entire site is the
Arthur, the settlement named by Captain John Welsh and supposed to reform a prisoner’s mind. guard tower (1835),
his surveyor in 1828. The prison took its name from the The Health and Welfare Precinct contains the remains of the most dominant
port located at the cove, named Russel Cove during the the hospital (1842), the paupers’ mess (1864) and the asylum feature of the Military
convict period, however later it was changed to Mason (1865) … perhaps for the inmates of the Separate Prison. The and Administration
Cove. During the convict days, Port Arthur’s access was paupers’ mess and dormitories that once stood in this area Precinct. The military
compound here housed
the soldiers and
provided an area to eat
and play sports, and
acted as a parade ground.
Many of the military
had families with
them on assignment
at Port Arthur. The
Jupiter Beach Specialists Commandant’s office The guard tower stands with
was the first exposure a prominent view of the entire
the new prisoners had prison facility.
sold sold when they reached the
site. They were lined up in front of the building, roll was taken,
and the rules of the settlement were read to them.
Two small churches are located in the Religious Precinct.
The larger church (1836 to 1867) built by the prisoners was
never consecrated to any religion and used by all. Fire gutted
the church in 1884. The smaller wooden church, St. David’s,
was consecrated in 1927 and is still used for regular worship
by the Anglican Church.
159 Rosalia Ct Thinking of Selling? 107 Brier Circle
Jupiter Country Club Sold in 4 Days The Commandant’s residence grew from a simple wooden
$2,700,000 2bd/2ba/2 car garage cottage (1833) to a many-roomed complex, through a series
Private heated salt water pool of additions up the hill behind it. Behind the house stood the
$549,000 Semaphore, a large tower that passed information through
sold sold visual signals. This was the quickest way to signal a message
to Hobart.

Tasmania’s Gulag Peninsula on page 10

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